Voters complained about soaring vegetable prices, crime and endemic corruption as they left the polling booths.

Commercial vegetable prices rose 11 percent from last month but were down 7.1 percent from March 1987.

The biggest increase was in vegetable prices, which surged 19.8 percent from September 2001 because of a typhoon that damaged crops.

Fresh vegetable prices were up except for sweet corn and carrots.

In some areas in the state, vegetable prices have already increased 50 percent to 70 percent.

Fuel is in short supply, vegetable prices have soared and the movement of trucks carrying goods into Katmandu has been frozen for two weeks.

This caused the fruits and vegetable prices to run down by 15% on September 19.

The victorious Congress Party is demanding a parliamentary debate on the failure to control rising vegetable prices.

Commercial vegetable prices rose 5.6 percent from December and were up 25 percent from a year earlier.

"Most commercial vegetable prices dropped sharply from a month earlier as supplies became plentiful," the report said.